Investments in robotics increased

Robotization gets more and more foothold in the Dutch food industry. This is stated by the ‘Sector Advisory Food companies in economic perspective’ report of ABN AMRO.

In the food sector the number of new purchased robots increased enormously in 2016 compared to 2015. Worldwide, there is a sharp rise in the use of robotics in the food industry. Robots are now used for many different steps in the production process. Mainly for packaging, but robots are deployed in other places more often; Despite the strict food safety and hygiene rules for this sector.

Robotization will get more and more foothold

Robots are used for packaging, picking up and moving, cutting and peeling, logistics and quality inspection. The latter is done by means of infrared technology that can assess the internal quality of many products. Productivity is an important factor in international competition; This gives robotization more and more foot to the ground.

Labour shortage

More and more entrepreneurs are worried about labour shortages; especially in the second half of 2017, the number has increased considerably. This is seen in the economy as a whole. In particular it’s difficult to recruit sales staff. The number of job vacancies also increased significantly in 2017. In the third quarter of 2017 the number of jobs in the food industry was 3000. At the end of 2016 there were only 2000 vacancies. ABN AMRO expects that unemployment will decrease in 2018 by 4% and the unemployment rate in 2019 will be 3,8%.

More information ‘Sector Advisory Foodbedrijven in economisch perspectief’(Dutch only)